Keyword Research and Blue Doohickies

I am always amazed by the results of keyword research.

No matter what I think about a subject or field, or what I think I might know; the research consistently surprises me. Not sometimes, not most of the times, but every single time .

It is often a challenge explains the results to clients who really think they know their business and their customers and what people want, but I am coming to believe that people tend to get so engrossed in their niche that they look too closely and they think that everyone knows and thinks like they do.It’s even difficult to explain sometimes what we get as results and some clients are so surprised they cannot believe that no one searches for the industry jargon and lingo that flows off their lips daily.

CLIENT: “How can you say that no one searches for blue widgets!! I just typed it in and there are 3 million results.”SEO TECH: “Yes, but you are looking at the results of a search for blue widgets. That’s the competition that is also selling blue widgets. That’s NOT measuring the actual numbers of people who are typing into the search engines”CLIENT: “I don’t understand!”SEO TECH: “What we look at is the numbers of people who are sitting in front of their computers just like you are and actually looking for what you call blue widgets. Your industry calls them “blue widgets”, but when people look for them, they call them “blue doohickeys”. If you want your blue widgets to find the people who want to buy them, then you need to call them “blue doohickeys”CLIENT: “That’s crazy! No one calls them doohickeys!”SEO TECH:”The research does not lie.People don’t know widgets. They know and want doohickyes and what’s more, while everyone calls them blue widgets, you could be raking in the bucks selling blue doohickeys”***

Keyword research widens the field of vision to encompass not only the markets/ clients that a industry does attract, but also allows us all a peek at a unknown segment that could have fantastic results.

The research shows us the real thoughts, needs, desires and wants of people. It’s like peeking into their brains and finding all their dirty little secrets. Most people have been known to Google something odd at least once.Think about it. You don’t have to tell me and you probably wouldn’t want many people to find out. You don’t have to be open about what you type into their search bars when you are alone, and even in the middle of keyword research,
your anonymity is protected, but if enough people search as you do; I will find out providing I have a client who might find that information useful.Sometimes, the results of keyword research is just very useful. Granted it is used for SEO to marry the key phrase to a web page and push the rankings, but very often we find in the research new markets for our clients. We can tell them what products people are looking for in great numbers and often advise then that there is no real competition out there like with the blue widgets. Sometimes the reuslts of keyword research can be developed into a new line of something they already produce, and sometimes it is just a new market for an existing product that needs to be rebranded or renamed or just advertised with new language reflecting what the public needs.Sometimes, the information we share with a client is not welcomed. They don’t always want to grow or change the way they are doing things and that has to be OK, too. Our job is to let them know what the research tells us. If they don’t want to take advantage of it, then we just might nod our heads, and roll our eyes when they aren’t looking, but as they say, “You can lead a horse to water…”But you can’t make them rename their blue widgets….*** the account above was based on a real conversation with a exsperated client. The names of all widgets and doohickeys has been changed to protect the innocent.***